Method and system for flexible payment processing

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method is provided for enhancing payment flexibility. The method includes receiving payment notification including a payment amount and a payment date for an identified customer and determining eligibility for flexible payment status implementing the computer processor, the determination based on the customer identity, the payment date, and a payment due date. The method further includes calculating a flex accrual using the computer processor if the customer is eligible for flexible payment status, the flex accrual based on the payment amount, the payment date, and the payment due date and communicating the flex accrual to the customer. The method additionally includes allowing the identified customer to utilize the flex accrual by making a late payment without penalty, wherein a number of days late and dollars paid are determined based on the flex accrual.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the invention are related generally to systems andmethods for implementing a flexible payment platform for credit accountpayments.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

While the credit card industry offers an option for customers to delaypayments until a monthly due date without penalty, payments that aremade after the due date typically incur finance charges, interest,penalties, or a combination thereof. While the credit payment cycletraditionally repeats on a monthly basis, many customers, in particularsmall business customers, do not have consistent monthly cash flow andtherefore find the credit card system unduly burdensome andinconvenient. Such businesses may instead opt to take a direct line ofcredit from vendors associated with the same industry, as these vendorsare likely to offer more flexible payment terms.

However, even a direct line of credit from a vendor may not provideadequate flexibility for all customers. For example, many smallbusinesses operate on a seasonal basis and may have consistent cash flowthrough one or two seasons and virtually no incoming revenue through theremaining seasons. For example, those in the construction business, alandscaping business, or a water sports business may have ample summerrevenue, but very little winter revenue. Similarly, customers in wintersports related businesses, snow plow operators, or those operatingbusinesses in winter resort areas may operate at full capacity in thewinter, but in a very limited capacity in the off-season.

Additionally, within the routine operating parameters of a smallbusiness, cash flow may be inconsistent. For example, a contractor mayuse a credit card to buy materials for a remodeling, job for a client.The client may have only paid the contractor 10% of the total cost uponaccepting the bid. Thus, in this month, the contractor may have suffereda net loss due to the cost of materials and will need flexibility tomake a late payment. However, the next month, the contractor may be paidin full for a job and may be able to make an early payment.Alternatively, in some circumstances, a business owner may be compelledto skip a monthly payment entirely when cash flow is reduced.

Although it is known in the credit card industry to provide variousrewards platforms, customers have been typically unable to use theserewards to introduce flexibility into their individual repaymentagreements. Furthermore, although it is known to allow credit cardholders to carry a balance, this balance is subject to various fees andthus does not introduce true flexibility in the repayment program tomeet the needs of customers having a business cycle that does notcorrespond to the typical monthly credit card repayment cycle.

Accordingly, a credit payment solution is needed that attract businessowners by providing greater flexibility of payment terms on an ongoingbasis. The solution should provide credit customers with the ability tomanage credit payments in view of inconsistent cash-flow. Theflexibility is particularly useful to small business owners as theyoften struggle with cash flow management.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method isprovided for enhancing payment flexibility implementing a computerprocessor accessing at least one storage medium. The method comprisesreceiving payment notification including a payment amount and a paymentdate for an identified customer, determining eligibility for flexiblepayment status implementing the computer processor, the determinationbased on the customer identity, the payment date, and a payment duedate. The method further includes calculating a flex accrual using thecomputer processor if the customer is eligible for flexible paymentstatus, the flex accrual based on the payment amount, the payment date,and the payment due date. The method further includes communicating theflex accrual to the customer and allowing the identified customer toutilize the flex accrual without penalty by making a late payment,wherein a number of days late and number of dollars are determined bythe flex accrual.

In a further aspect of the invention, a flexible payment processingsystem is provided for determining a flex accrual allowing customers tomake payments on a flexible schedule. The system implements a computerprocessor accessing at least one storage medium and comprises a paymentinformation interface for receiving information pertaining to a customerpayment amount, a customer payment date, and a corresponding due date.The system additionally comprises a flex eligibility determinationengine implemented by the computer processor for determining eligibilityfor flex accrual based on the customer identity, the payment date, andthe corresponding due date and a flex accrual calculator for calculatingthe flex accrual using the computer processor if the customer iseligible for flexible payment status, the flex accrual based on thepayment amount, the payment date, and the payment due date. The systemfurther comprises a flex redemption engine for utilizing the accumulatedflex accrual to accept at least a portion of a late payment for eligiblecustomers and a flex status communication engine for communicating withthe customers to provide flex accrual information determined by the flexaccrual calculator.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, a flexible payment processingsystem is provided for determining a flex accrual allowing customers tomake payments on a flexible schedule. The system implements a computerprocessor accessing at least one storage medium and comprises a customerrecord for storing customer eligibility data and flex accrual units, thecustomer record stored in a storage medium. The system additionallycomprises a payment information interface for receiving informationpertaining to a customer payment amount, a customer payment date, and acorresponding due date. A flex eligibility determination engine may beimplemented by the computer processor for accessing the customer recordin the storage medium and determining eligibility for flex accrual basedon the customer eligibility from the customer record, the payment date,and the corresponding due date. The system may additionally include aflex accrual calculator for calculating the flex accrual using thecomputer processor if the customer is eligible for flexible paymentstatus, the flex accrual calculated using a flex accrual equation andbased on the payment amount, the payment date, and the payment due date.Flex planning tools may be provided for allowing an eligible customer toselect future payment dates using flex accrual. A flex accrualredemption engine may be provided for processing customer paymentsutilizing accrued flex accrual; and for adjusting the stored flexaccrual. A flex status communication engine may be provided forcommunicating with the customers to provide flex accrual informationdetermined by the flex accrual calculator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to theattached drawings figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an operating environment for aflexible payment system in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computing,environment for the flexible payment system in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of a flexible paymentsystem in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for processing payments inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary customer recordstored in the flexible payment system in accordance with an embodimentof the invention; and

FIG. 6 is an exemplary user interface illustrating payment planningtools in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a flexible paymentplatform for enabling credit customers, particularly small businessowners, to have the ability to pay credit bills on a more flexibleschedule rather than on the rigid monthly schedule typically followed bythe card issuer. The system accrues flex units in accordance with one ofvarious flex units accrual formulas. Redemption of the flex units may besubject to certain rules and regulations. However, redemption of theflex units frees credit customers from the rigors of a monthly paymentcycle. When a customer pays a credit bill earlier than the due date,flexible payment system determines the amount paid and the number ofdays early the amount is paid. The recorded amount and number of daysare then inserted into a flex accrual formula for calculating flex unitsthat may be banked in order to extend future payment due dates for thecustomer.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an operating environment for aflexible payment system in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Account holder systems 10 may be connected over a network 20to a financial institution 100 having various computing components. Forexample, the financial institution 100 may include a payment processingsystem 110 that interfaces with a flexible payment system 300. Theflexible payment system 300 preferably accesses or includes member data180 and stored rules 140, which both may be contained in accessibledatabases. The financial institution likely contains many additionalcomputing systems which are omitted herein for simplicity.

The account holder systems 10 may be personal computing systems enablingcredit account holders to connect over the network 20 with the flexiblepayment system 300 of the financial institution 100. These accountholder systems 10 may for example, include desktop or laptop computersand handheld or mobile devices.

The network 20 may be or include a wired or wireless local area network(LAN) and a wide area network (WAN), wireless personal area network(PAN) and other types of networks. When used in a LAN networkingenvironment, computers may be connected to the LAN through a networkinterface or adapter. When used in a WAN networking environment,computers typically include a modem or other communication mechanism.Modems may be internal or external, and may be connected to the systembus via the user-input interface, or other appropriate mechanism.Computers may be connected over the Internet, an Intranet, Extranet,Ethernet, or any other system that provides communications. Somesuitable communications protocols may include TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI forexample. For wireless communications, communications protocols mayinclude Bluetooth, Zigbee, IrDa or other suitable protocol. Furthermore,components of the system may communicate through a combination of wiredor wireless paths.

The payment processing system 110 may be a known system associated withprocessing credit payments within the financial institution 100.Although not shown, the payment processing system 110 may be linked notonly to credit accounts, but also to other types of customer accounts inorder to expedite and facilitate payment to credit accounts. The paymentprocessing system 110 is configured to share information with theflexible payment system 300.

The flexible payment system 300, member data 130, and stored rules 140will be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 2-6. Theflexible payment system 300 allows credit customers to accrue flex unitsfor in return for early payments so that subsequent payments may bedelayed at a later date. In embodiments of the invention, the entirecredit balance must be paid early in order for a customer to earn flexunits. However, in other embodiments of the invention, a customer mayearn flex units by paying a fraction of the credit balance early as longas the entire credit balance is paid by the due date. In either case,when a customer chooses to utilize the earned flex units at a laterdate, the financial institution does not charge the customer interest,late fees, or finance charges or assess any other penalty as long as theflex units are sufficient to cover the late payment.

In embodiments of the system, despite the flexibility of payment,customers may continue to receive monthly bills in accordance with theknown monthly billing cycles. However, when a customer accrues flexunits, during the next billing cycle, the customer's bill might includean “actual” due date, which is a normal due date set by the bank as wellas an “adjusted” or “flexible” due date, which is set based on thenumber of flexible payment units the customer has banked. In preferredembodiments, whenever the customer has paid the previous statement infull and has banked enough flex units, a flex due date will appear onthe next statement. Early payment days and dollars may be manipulated ina number of ways in order to determine a formula for determining accruedflexible payment units.

If the customer continues to pay early and does not take advantage ofthe adjusted due date, the customer will continue to accrue flexiblepayment units. In embodiments of the invention, a cap may be placed onthe number of flexible payment units that a customer can accumulate overa given time period or on a number of flexible payment units thecustomer can use during a given time period. In additional embodimentsof the invention, the accrued flex units can be used to adjust paymentdates for multiple credit cards, such as a personal card, a businesscard, or even the card of another family member. In still furtherembodiments, rewards points extracted from a credit card rewards programmay be converted accrued flex units and vice versa. In this context,reference is made to commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/044,220, which provides a system for converting early payments torewards points. The present application fully incorporates thisdisclosure by reference. Such a system could be integrated with orlinked to the system disclosed herein.

In still further embodiments of the flexible payment system, preferredcustomers may be entitled to carry a negative balance of flex units. Thestatements would then reflect a need for the customer to pay early inorder to return to a zero or positive balance.

As explained above, the method and system are particularly useful tosmall business customers that have difficulty regulating cash flow andrequire flexibility in payment cycles. The flexible payment system islikely to allow small business customers to pay their bills tocorrespond with their own receipt of payments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computingenvironment for the flexible payment system 200 in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The components shown in FIGS. 1-3 below maybe or include a computer or multiple computers. The components may bedescribed in the general context of computer-executable instructions,such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally,program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, datastructures, etc. that performs particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types.

The configuration shown in FIG. 2 is merely exemplary and should not beconstrued as limiting. It is likely that multiple computing systems ordevices will be utilized to implement the method and system inaccordance with embodiments of the invention. The computing system 200may include a processing unit 210, a peripheral interface 220, a userinput interface 230, a system bus 240, a system memory 250, a networkinterface 290, a connected modem 292, and a memory interface 294. Thesystem bus 240 may be provided for coupling the various systemcomponents.

Computers typically include a variety of computer readable media thatcan form part of the system memory and be read by the processing unit.By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media maycomprise computer storage media and communication media. The systemmemory 250 may include computer storage media in the form of volatileand/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 260 and randomaccess memory (RAM) 270.

A basic input/output system (BIOS) 262, containing the basic routinesthat help to transfer information between elements, such as duringstart-up, is typically stored in ROM 260. RAM 270 typically containsdata and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/orpresently being operated on by processing unit. The data or programmodules may include an operating system 274, flexible payment system300, other program modules 276, and program data 280. The operatingsystem may be or include a variety of operating systems such asMicrosoft Windows® operating system, the Unix operating system, theLinux operating, system, the Xenix operating system, the IBM AIX™operating system, the Hewlett Packard UX™ operating system, the NovellNetware™ operating system, the Sun Microsystems Solaris™ operatingsystem, the OS/2™ operating system, the BeOS™ operating system, theMacintosh™® operating system, the Apache™ operating system, an OpenStep™operating system or another operating system of platform.

At a minimum, the memory 250 includes at least one set of instructionsthat is either permanently or temporarily stored. The processor 210executes the instructions that are stored in order to process data. Theset of instructions may include various instructions that perform aparticular task or tasks, such as those shown in the appended flowchart.Such a set of instructions for performing a particular task may becharacterized as a program, software program, software, engine, module,component, mechanism, or tool. The flexible payment system 200 mayinclude a plurality of software processing modules stored in a memory asdescribed above and executed on a processor in the manner describedherein. The program modules may be in the form of any suitableprogramming language, which is converted to machine language or objectcode to allow the processor or processors to read the instructions. Thatis, written lines of programming code or source code, in a particularprogramming language, may be converted to machine language using acompiler, assembler, or interpreter. The machine language may be binarycoded machine instructions specific to a particular computer.

Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with thevarious embodiments of the invention, Illustratively, the programminglanguage used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++,COBOL, dBase, Forth, FORTRAN, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX,and/or JavaScript for example. Further, it is not necessary that asingle type of instruction or programming language be utilized inconjunction with the operation of the system and method of theinvention. Rather, any number of different programming languages may beutilized as is necessary or desirable.

Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the inventionmay utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as maybe desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further,files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module.

The computing environment may also include other removable/nonremovable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. For example, a hard diskdrive may read or write to nonremovable, nonvolatile magnetic media. Amagnetic disk drive may read from or writes to a removable, nonvolatilemagnetic disk, and an optical disk drive may read from or write to aremovable, nonvolatile optical disk such as a CD ROM or other opticalmedia. Other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computerstorage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environmentinclude, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memorycards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM,solid state ROM, and the like. The storage media are typically connectedto the system bus through a removable or non-removable memory interface.

The processing unit 210 that executes commands and instructions may be ageneral purpose computer, but may utilize any of a wide variety of othertechnologies including a special purpose computer, a microcomputer,mini-computer, mainframe computer, programmed micro-processor,micro-controller, peripheral integrated circuit element, a CSIC(Customer Specific Integrated Circuit), ASIC (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit), a logic circuit, a digital signal processor, aprogrammable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable GateArray), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), PLA (Programmable Logic Array),UID processor, smart chip, or any other device or arrangement of devicesthat is capable of implementing the steps of the processes of theinvention.

It should be appreciated that the processors and/or memories of thecomputer system need not be physically in the same location. Each of theprocessors and each of the memories used by the computer system may bein geographically distinct locations and be connected so as tocommunicate with each other in any suitable manner. Additionally, it isappreciated that each of the processor and/or memory may be composed ofdifferent physical pieces of equipment.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer through auser interface 230 that includes input devices such as a keyboard andpointing device, commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touchpad. Other input devices may include a microphone, joystick, game pad,satellite dish, scanner, voice recognition device, keyboard, touchscreen, toggle switch, pushbutton, or the like. These and other inputdevices are often connected to the processing unit through a user inputinterface that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected byother interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game portor a universal serial bus (USB).

One or more monitors or display devices may also be connected to thesystem bus via an interface 220. In addition to display devices,computers may also include other peripheral output devices, which may beconnected through an output peripheral interface. The computersimplementing the invention may operate in a networked environment usinglogical connections to one or more remote computers, the remotecomputers typically including many or all of the elements describedabove.

Various networks may be implemented in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention. These networks may include any of those described abovewith reference to FIG. 1. Although many other internal components of thecomputer are not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that such components and the interconnections are well known.Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction ofthe computer need not be disclosed in connection with the presentinvention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may bepracticed with various computer system configurations, includinghand-held wireless devices such as mobile phones or PDAs, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may alsobe practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote computer storage mediaincluding memory storage devices.

Although the aforementioned components are shown as discrete modules,each of the modules may alternatively be integrated with one another. Ifthe modules are discrete, multiple modules may operate cooperatively aswill be further explained below.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of the flexiblepayment system 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.The flexible payment system 300 may include a flex eligibilitydetermination engine 310, payment information interface components 320,a flex accrual calculator 330, flex planning tools 340, a flex statuscommunication engine 350, and a flex redemption engine 360. Thesecomponents, although shown as discrete components, may optionally becombined in various configurations. When executed by one or morecomputer processors as described above, the components perform thefunctions of the flexible payment system 300 as will be furtherdescribed herein.

The flex eligibility determination engine 310 may access a customerrecord to determine customer eligibility. Customer eligibility may bedetermined, for example, for enrollment in the flex accrual program, foradding accrued flex units, and for redeeming accrued flex units. Thus,in addition to operating upon enrollment, the flex eligibilitydetermination engine 310 may operate upon receipt of each payment todetermine if the payment and the customer are eligible for flex accrualor flex redemption. Eligibility may be based on customer identity,payment amount, payment date, account type, or other factors as will befurther described below.

The payment information interface components 320 exchange informationwith the payment processor of the financial institution as illustratedin FIG. 1. For instance, the payment processor of the financialinstitution may forward a payment amount, payment date, and customeridentity to the payment information interface components 320.Optionally, the flexible payment system 300 may be integrated with thepayment processor of the financial institution so that the exchange ofinformation will occur internally. In either instance, the flex paymentstatus of the customer is also passed back from the payment informationinterface components 320 to the payment processor.

The flex accrual calculator 330 applies stored rules and formulas todetermine accrued flex units. The flex accrual calculator 330 operateseach time a payment is received to determine whether the payment iseligible for accrual. If the customer intends the payment to be timed toutilize accrued flex units, the flex accrual calculator 330 may deductthe appropriate number of accrual units from the customer recordaccording to stored rules and formulas. This deduction may be directedby the customer through an opt-in feature by which the customer opts into utilize flex units.

In embodiments of the invention, customers may pay early on a regularbasis and accrue flex units nearly every month. However, embodiments ofthe invention may impose a cap on the accrued flex units and the flexcalculator will detect a condition that occurs when the cap is exceeded.

In embodiments of the invention, in order to participate in the flexiblepayment system, the customer must have a zero balance and must be payingthe current statement in full. The accrued flex units may be calculatedaccording to a formula, such as for example(days early)×(amount paid)=flex units  (1)

For example, if a customer's amount due is $2000 and the customer paysthat amount ten days earlier, the customer banks $20,000 flex units.Redemption of flex units may also be defined by a formula. For example,if a customer wants to determine how late he can pay without penalty, hemay implement the following formula: redemption flex units may bedefined by:days late=(flex units)/(amount due)  (2)

In yet further embodiments, the redemption formula may be varieddepending on the customer or customer eligibility level. For instance,the number of days late may be defined by:days late=0.5(flex units)/(amount due)  (3)

In the example of equation (3), each unit is only redeemable at half ofits original accrued value.

Furthermore, any of the formulas disclosed in the parent application forcalculated rewards amount may also be implemented for calculation offlex units in embodiments of the invention. Another embodiment may beimplemented based on early payment of partial balance. Such anembodiment might reduce penalties for late payments.

Furthermore, various limits and restrictions may be imposed in order toprevent customers from manipulating the system. For example, limits maybe imposed to prevent customers from benefiting from paying a very smallamount of balance well in advance in order to make un-penalized latepayments at a later date. Restrictions may placed on the number of daysearly that a customer can pay. For example, in one embodiment of theinvention, all early payments must be made within a specified billingcycle. Other limits on time periods and payment amounts may also beimposed.

The flex planning tools 340 may allow a customer to schedule payments inadvance based on accrued flex units. For example, operators of seasonalbusinesses as described above may accrue flex units for six months andmay schedule payments every two months for the remaining six months.Thus, the flex planning tools 340 enable a monthly cycle to be convertedto a bi-monthly cycle for half of the calendar year. The flex planningtools 340 are preferably provided through a user-interface offeringvisualization and manipulation of payment dates.

With flex planning tools 340 provided over the Internet on userinterface, the planning tools 340 may include a slider interface thatshows the customer variations of how much can be paid on which dates.The planning tools 340 facilitate visualization of the number of daysand amount that the customer is entitled to defer.

The flex planning tools 340 may enable a customer to accumulate flexunits by pre-programming the system to pay as early as possible throughautomatic deduction from a checking or other account in order toaccumulate benefits as quickly as possible. The flex planning tools mayfurther include options for transferring accrued flex units to the cardof a family member or to another destination.

Furthermore, the flex planning tools 340 may explicitly require acustomer to “opt in” to redeem accrued flex units. The flex planningtools 340 may further require the customer to explicitly opt in toenable accrual of flex units.

Although the flex planning tools 340 as shown, may be provided on a userinterface of a PC, planning tools may also be provided in text formatfor mobile devices. For example, a text message may be transmitted thatstates “Remember that your bill is due and you have accrued flex units.Do you want to use these units?” If the customer selects “yes”, then theuser interface may request an indication of how many flex units or itmay divert the customer to an automatic payment system in order to setup the next payment.

The flex status communication engine 350 preferably providescommunications to customers regarding flex accrual and flex redemption.The flex status communication engine 350 may operate by sending textmessages or emails to mobile devices or other computing devices. Theflex status may be or include, for example, a payment reminder, astatement of accrued flex units, or a statement of used flex units. Theflex status communication engine 350 may for example include orincorporate a web application or mobile application that shows customersa number of accrued available flex units.

In yet further embodiments of the invention, the flex statuscommunication engine 350 may communicate through an LED screen on theregistered credit card that provides number of accrued flex unitsavailable.

The flex redemption engine 360 operates to redeem flex units and deductaccrued flex units from customer records upon redemption of the accruedflex units. Thus, the flex redemption engine 360 may access the paymentprocessing system and the customer record to transfer any necessaryinformation.

In embodiments of the invention flex unit redemption may be set by thecustomer to be performed automatically by the flex redemption engine360. If the customer visits her account online, for example, she cansave flex accrual units for a particular season. Furthermore, she may beable to tie payment directly to a checking account with the financialinstitution. The customer may further be able to set payment such thatwhen the account has the required amount of funds, the credit bill isautomatically paid and any necessary flex units are redeemed.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for processing payments inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. In S400, the methodbegins and the payment processor system receives payment in S406. InS410, the system determines whether the payment is past the payment duedate. If the payment is not past the payment in S410, the payment isfurther analyzed for eligibility for flex accrual on the right branch ofthe flow chart. If the payment is past the payment due date in S410,eligibility for use of flex accrual units is analyzed on the left branchof the flow chart.

Thus, to determine whether a payment is eligible for flex accrual, thesystem determines if the payment is early in S430. If the payment is notearly, then the payment does not result in flex accrual and the paymentis processed as an ordinary payment in S442. However, if the payment isearly, the parameters are further analyzed in S436 to determine if thepayment is eligible for flex accrual. If the results of the analysis arenegative, the payment is processed as an ordinary payment in S442. Ifthe results of the analysis are positive, the flex accrual formula isapplied to calculate accrued flex units and the accrued flex units arestored in S440. The accrual is subsequently communicated to the customerin S450 and the process ends in S460.

As stated above, if the payment is past the due date in S410, the systemmay examine the payment to determine if it is eligible to utilize flexaccrual units. Thus, in S416, the system determines whether flexiblepayment dates are available. If flexible payment dates are available inS416, the system utilizes the flex dates in S420 and stores the new flexaccrual value in S440. Again, in S450, the utilization of flex units andcurrent flex status may be communicated to the customer. However, ifflexible payment dates are not available in S416, the system processesthe received payment as a late payment in S418 and the method ends inS460.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary customer record 500stored in the flexible payment system in accordance with an embodimentof the invention. The customer record 500 may include a storedeligibility level 510, a stored formula 520 for calculating flexaccrual, stored flex accrual units 530, and payment history 540.

The stored eligibility level 510 may relate to a level of accrual towhich a customer is entitled. This level of accrual may for based onfactors such as the customer's net worth to financial institution,measured by existing balances in various accounts or by a typical totalcharged amount to the credit account each month.

The stored formula 520 may be provided for calculating flex accrualand/or flex redemption for the particular customer. The customer record500 may include the formula or alternatively a pointer to the formula,which may be stored elsewhere.

Stored flex accrual units 530 may be stored in the customer record. Eachflex accrual unit may be calibrated to a combined number of days and adollar amount.

The payment history 540 may also be stored in the customer record 500and may be implemented in flex accrual calculations where appropriate.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary user interface illustrating payment planningtools as presented in a user interface 600 in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The user interface 600 may inform acustomer at 610 of accrued flex units. A planning tool 620 may allowcustomers to manipulate days or dollars to illustrate the reach of theaccrued flex units. In the illustrated example, the customer has 100,000flex units. If the customer enters a number of days late (20) that he orshe wishes to pay, the system may provide the number of dollars (5000)that can be delayed for the selected number of days. A customer may wishto view this option when the customer is due to receive a large paymenttwenty days after the payment is due. Alternatively, the customer mayenter the amount that he wishes to pay late. This amount, may forexample, be the entire outstanding credit balance due. In theillustrated example, the amount is $5000. By entering $5000 in the userinterface, the customer will discover that he can pay this balancetwenty days late without penalty.

A further feature 630 allows the customer to select payment dates anddollars by month. If the customer has earned sufficient flex units, thecustomer may be able to skip one or more months of payments. Ideally,the user interface will display remaining flex units after each paymentdate is scheduled by the customer. Thus, the customer can review andrevise payment dates upon entry.

Furthermore, the due date may be incrementally moved up for largeramounts of balance or incrementally moved back for smaller balances.Thus, the customer may be given an adjusted due date of twenty days lateif the next bill is only $1000 or and adjusted due date of eight dayslate for an amount up to $2400, or an adjusted due date of five dayslate for an amount up to $3000. In this example, if the next statementhas a balance of over $20,000, the customer would not have a latepayment option during that month unless previous flex units had beenearned.

Stored rules may require that flex units be utilized only for paymentsno more than twenty five days late during, any billing cycle. While thecustomer may continue to accrue flex units, the customer may not be ableto use them to pay bills several months beyond the predetermined bankdue date. Instead, the customer may be required to pay the bill prior tocompletion of the next billing cycle.

Thus, the flexible payment system and method disclosed herein providepayment flexibility to credit card customers. The payment flexibilitywill be particularly useful to small business and seasonal businessoperators.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed in detail herein, it should be understood that various changesand modifications might be made to the invention without departing fromthe scope and intent of the invention.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above, togetherwith other advantages, which are obvious and inherent to the system andmethod. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinationsare of utility and may be employed without reference to other featuresand sub-combinations. This is contemplated and within the scope of theappended claims.

1. A computerized method for enhancing payment flexibility implementinga computer processor accessing at least one storage medium, the methodcomprising: receiving payment notification upon payment of a credit billby an identified customer, the payment notification including a paymentamount and a payment date for the identified customer; determiningeligibility for flexible payment status implementing the computerprocessor, the determination based on the customer identity, the paymentdate, and a payment due date; calculating a flex accrual using thecomputer processor upon receipt of the payment from the customer whenthe customer is eligible for flexible payment status, the flex accrualbased on the payment amount, the payment date, and the payment due date,wherein the flex accrual occurs only when the payment date is prior tothe payment due date; communicating the flex accrual to the customerwhen the customer is eligible for flexible payment status; and allowingthe identified customer to utilize the flex accrual by making asubsequent late payment in response to a subsequent credit bill withoutpenalty when the customer is eligible for flexible payment status,wherein a number of days late and dollars paid are determined based onthe flex accrual.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the flexaccrual comprises calculating flex accrual units with a flex calculatoras a product of a number of days early a payment is made and a number ofdollars of the early payment.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising providing a user interface for allowing the identifiedcustomer to pre-set late payment dates based on the flex accrual units.4. The method of claim 3, further comprising providing a calculator onthe user interface for facilitating determining of permissible latepayments.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising facilitatingtransfer of the flex units to an alternate credit account.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein determining eligibility for flexible payment statuscomprises determining whether the payment is received prior to an actualpayment due date.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein determiningeligibility for flexible payment status further comprises determiningwhether the payment amount is for the entire account balance and denyingeligibility of the payment is less than the entire account balance. 8.The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a late payment on alater date than a scheduled due date, determining if flex accrual isavailable, and utilizing the flex accrual to accept payment on the laterdate without penalty.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprisingautomatically deducting scheduled early payments from a checking accountof the identified customer for a predetermined number of months toguarantee flex accrual.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprisingstoring and utilizing different flex accrual formulas for differentcustomers, wherein a selected flex accrual formula for a particularcustomer corresponds to a customer eligibility level.
 11. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a database storing and utilizing differentflex accrual formulas for different customers, wherein a selected flexaccrual formula for a particular customer corresponds to a customereligibility level.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising showingan actual due date reflecting a standard monthly due date and a flexibledue date calculated based on the flex accrual on a monthly credit billtransmitted to the customer.
 13. A flexible payment processing computingsystem for determining a flex accrual allowing customers to makepayments on a flexible schedule, the system comprising: a paymentinformation interface for receiving information upon receipt of acustomer credit payment pertaining to a customer payment amount, acustomer payment date, and a corresponding due date; a computer storagemedium storing instructions and customer identity information; at leastone computer processor, the computer processor accessing the storedinstructions to perform steps including, determining eligibility forflex accrual using a flex eligibility determination engine, thedetermination based on the customer identity, the payment date, and thecorresponding due date; calculating the flex accrual upon receipt of thepayment from the customer using a flex accrual calculator when thecustomer is eligible for flexible payment status, the flex accrual basedon the payment amount, the payment date, and the payment due date,wherein the flex accrual occurs only when the payment date is prior tothe payment due date; utilizing the accumulated flex accrual through aflex redemption engine to accept a late payment in response to a paymentfor a subsequent credit bill for eligible customers; and communicating,using a flex communication engine, with the customers eligible forflexible payment status to provide flex accrual information determinedby the flex accrual calculator.
 14. The system of claim 13, furthercomprising flex planning tools including a user interface for allowingthe customers to pre-set late payment dates.
 15. The system of claim 13,wherein the flex accrual calculator calculates the flex accrual bycalculating flex accrual units as a product of a number of days early apayment is made and a number of dollars of the early payment.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the redemption engine facilitates transferof the flex units to an alternate credit account.
 17. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the flex eligibility determination engine determineseligibility for flexible payment status by determining whether thepayment is received prior to an actual payment due date.
 18. The systemof claim 17, wherein determining eligibility for flexible payment statusfurther comprises determining whether the payment amount is for theentire account balance and denying eligibility of the payment is lessthan the entire account balance.
 19. The system of claim 18, furthercomprising a calculator on the user interface for facilitatingdetermining of permissible late payments.
 20. The system of claim 13,wherein the redemption engine receives a late payment on a later datethan a scheduled due date, determining if flex accrual is available, andutilizing the flex accrual to accept payment on the later date withoutpenalty.
 21. The system of claim 13, wherein flex planning tools furtherautomatically deduct scheduled early payments from a checking account ofthe customer for a predetermined number of months to guarantee flexaccrual.
 22. The system of claim 13, wherein the payment informationinterface displays a monthly statement showing an actual due datereflecting a standard monthly due date and a flexible due datecalculated based on the flex accrual.